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Indian tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Ivan Dodig were knocked out of the Shanghai Masters 2024 in the Round of 16 after a nail-biting three-set battle against Croatian-Dutch duo Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof. The Indian-Croatian pair fought valiantly but ultimately fell 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 12-14 in an intense encounter that went down to the wire.
The match started as a closely contested affair, with both pairs exchanging blows and holding serve throughout the first set. Bopanna and Dodig looked sharp early on, with their serve proving difficult to break.
The first set needed a tiebreak to separate the two pairs after neither could secure a break. In the tiebreak, Bopanna and Dodig found themselves in a battle of small margins.
Despite leading at several points, they couldn’t quite capitalize on key moments, allowing Mektic and Koolhof to snatch the tiebreak 7-5, claiming the opening set.
Rohan Bopanna and Dodig roar back in the second set before falling in the third
Undeterred by the narrow loss in the first set, Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig stormed back in the second. The Indian-Croatian duo found another gear, dominating on serve and creating multiple opportunities to break their opponents.
Their aggressive net play and well-placed returns kept Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof on the back foot for much of the set.
Bopanna and Dodig broke early to take a commanding lead and never looked back. They clinched the second set 6-2, leveling the match and forcing a decisive super tiebreak.
The third set super tiebreak proved to be a dramatic and nerve-wracking affair, with both pairs refusing to give an inch. The momentum swung back and forth as Bopanna and Dodig grabbed a slight lead, only for Mektic and Koolhof to claw their way back into the contest.
With the score locked at 9-9, it became a battle of nerves. Bopanna and Dodig had a match point at 12-11, but Mektic and Koolhof saved it. The Croatian-Dutch pair earned a match point of their own at 13-12 and didn’t falter this time. Koolhof served out the match, securing a dramatic 14-12 victory in the super tiebreak.
